Updates

11.07.2017The legislation of the Republic of Moldova on non-governmental organizations is obsolete, failing to provide sufficient protection against abuses. In spring 2016, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Vladimir CEBOTARI, accepted the proposal of several civil society organizations to improve the legislation on non-governmental organizations and established a working group to this end, composed of representatives of non-governmental organizations and the Ministry of Justice.The group worked for more than a year and prepared a draft law intended to replace the Law on Public Associations and the Law on Foundations. This draft is in line with the best international standards and practices and may represent, if adopted, a step forward in ensuring a sustainable and independent associative sector in the Republic of Moldova. The draft was endorsed by international experts and subjected to public consultations with participation of non-commercial organizations held on 14 September 2016 by the Ministry of Justice. During its activity, the working group enjoyed independence and was not subject to undue influence by the leadership of the Ministry of Justice or any other authorities. The draft Law on non-governmental organizations is ready to be promoted for adoption.Last week, the representatives of NGOs, members of the above-referenced working group, received from the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, part of the same group, a proposal to complete the draft with three additional articles (Articles 28-30) presented by the Minister of Justice.The additions include "special provisions on political activity of non-governmental organizations", which significantly limit the activity of non-governmental organizations and establish prohibitions for their direct or indirect foreign financing. These restrictions refer to organizations that contribute to development and promotion of public policies intended to influence the legislative process. At the same time, these restrictions apply to the organizations that, according to the initiative, could participate or intervene in political activities, electoral campaigns, electoral programs, support political parties, their leaders or candidates, promote them or any other actions undertaken by them, either jointly or separately, both, in elections within the meaning of the Electoral Code or matters subject to a referendum, or beyond elections. These organizations will be prohibited even from accessing the 2% mechanism.The adjustments also aim at additional financial transparency rules for all organizations that benefit from financing outside the Republic of Moldova. They should submit to the Ministry of Justice quarterly and annual financial reports, even though such reports are submitted monthly and annually with the Tax authorities of the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, the NGOs should publish other reports confirming the origin of the organization's funds and revenues, and of the members of its management bodies as well. Additionally, organizations will have to submit a written declaration on incomes and expenditures ratio for "political activities" to the Ministry of Justice and the Central Electoral Commission and publish it on their website.For breach of the above requirements, the Ministry of Justice will apply sanctions to the non-governmental organization and to the members of its management bodies. Some of the provided sanctions are a financial penalty in the amount of the monthly salary fund of the organization or in the amount of the material value of which the financial organization benefited in committing the breach, whichever is greater, as well as the liquidation of the organization, based on a court decision.On 6 July 2017, the members of the working group convened in a meeting with the Minister of Justice. At this meeting, Mr. Cebotari mentioned that the proposed additions are designed to avoid the external influence on the policy of the Republic of Moldova, which is exercised, including by means of external financing of non-commercial organizations which are focusing on state policies or are supporting, directly or indirectly, initiatives of political parties. The Minister suggested to improve the text proposed by him. The representatives of the Ministry of Justice in the working group informed the representatives of NGOs from the working group that the final version of the daft to be promoted will be decided by the Ministry of Justice.The signatory organizations consider that the proposals of the Minister of Justice cannot be supported in any way, because they are contrary to the international standards and are endangering the entire associative sector and democracy in the Republic of Moldova.This initiative is contrary to the international standards, which do not allow such limitations for the NGOs activities. A recent analysis by the Venice Commission reveals that such limitations exist only in three member states of the Council of Europe – Russia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. Recently, the Venice Commission had a critical attitude on Hungarian law. The limitations proposed by Mr. Cebotari are even more restrictive than those in Hungary, a country that does not impose an absolute ban for foreign funding of NGOs. Moreover, the minister's initiative is contrary to the very purpose for which the drafting of new legislation was initiated. The working group was created to improve and not to worsen the working environment of non-governmental organizations. If Minister’s intention was communicated from the outset, no non-commercial organization would have accepted to get involved in drafting such a draft Law. Furthermore, this initiative was announced at the latest possible moment, despite the fact that the same Minister created the working group more than a year ago.The proposals represent an attack on non-governmental organizations that are active in promoting public policies or any other activities to develop participatory democracy. The absolute majority of Moldovan NGOs benefit from funds provided by development partners. Such measures will deprive the majority of active NGOs in the country of financing and the foreign political organizations and foundations working in the Republic of Moldova would be forced to cease their activity. Therefore, this will affect thousands of people directly benefiting from the NGOs activity and the functioning of democracy itself in the Republic of Moldova.The proposed provisions are contrary to the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, which encourages the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations, in developing policies and reforms in the Republic of Moldova. We must recall that the state of the Republic of Moldova itself benefits from continuous financial support from the development partners. Thus, restricting external financing for the non-governmental sector is at least disproportionate.Furthermore, for 20 years the legislation of the Republic of Moldova has not provided for such prohibitions. Due to the fact that legislation had not provided for such bans, the associative sector in Moldova developed considerably over the past two decades. This confirms that the danger invoked by the Minister of Justice as an argument for promoting the initiative does not exist. The draft law elaborated by the working group already sets limits to the NGOs' involvement in elections in line with best international practices. The proposed additions go much further, excessively limiting the activity of NGOs both during and after elections.This initiative comes at a time when we are witnessing a regress in the environment of non-governmental organizations activity, including due to attacks against several civil society activists. Also, the statement made by the President Igor DODON on 26 May 2017 on the usefulness of promoting provisions limiting foreign funding of NGOs, similarly to Hungary, cannot be ignored. We would like to believe that this incident does not represent the policy promoted by the government regarding NGOs.In the light of the foregoing, the signatory organizations call on: 1 the Minister of Justice, to give up the initiative to limit financing of the activity of NGOs from outside, as well as any other initiatives aimed at limiting their activity, and to send the draft Law drafted by the working group to the Government for approval as soon as possible; 2 the Government and Parliament to vote the draft law on non-governmental organizations drafted by the working group without introducing provisions that will limit the activity of NGOs. Any delay in promotion of this draft will be treated by us as an implicit confirmation of a policy of limiting the activity of the associative sector; 3 diplomatic community and development partners of the Republic of Moldova to closely monitor the situation of civil society in the Republic of Moldova and the initiatives to suppress the activity of the associative sector in the Republic of Moldova, and to take all measures to ensure that the civil society organizations working environment and freedom of the press do not worsen.Note: The draft law, with the additions proposed by the Minister of Justice (Art. 26-28) was published in the afternoon of 11 July 2017 after the above declaration was issued, and is available here. The English version of Declaration can be downloaded here.The Romanian version of Declaration is available here.

*APSCF is a network of 89 national and local NGOs set up in 2002 and some member NGOs have been active since the 1990s, being active particularly as providers of social services for children, as well as promoters of new approaches/ ideas/ norms in child's protection. The member NGOs, dialogue partners of national and international decision-makers, and children's friends, contribute through daily activities to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, since it has been ratified.

Thank you for your email regarding your concerns about Moldova. Please be
assured that your comments and concerns have been taken on board and will
be passed on to Claude Moraes MEP. He appreciates the time you have taken
to express your views on this important issue.

Moldova stands very high on the agenda of the European Union and of the
European Parliament. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the
European Parliament have had the opportunity to reiterate this message in
their meetings with the most senior Moldovan authorities.

Following the presidential elections in 2016, we want to see Moldova
progressing and modernising. Moldova has signed the most advanced
generation of the Association Agreement with the EU and has, therefore, a
unique opportunity to make concrete progress in its European aspirations.

We urge the newly established authorities to adopt and implement much
needed reforms for the benefit of all Moldovan citizens and to fight
corruption – you will be please to know that we have received reassurances
in this respect. We have called for responsibility from all political
actors in the country and strongly encourage a positive political
dialogue. The S&D Group firmly condemn any act of political violence which
not only threatens the needed peaceful atmosphere for progress, but also
the regional security.

Please be assured we will continue to stand in solidarity with Moldova to
help the country¹s political leaders accelerate the reform process towards
greater stability and further modernisation in the country and increased
prosperity for its people. We believe it is important to maintain strong
ties between the EU and Moldova, therefore we will continue to push for
ambitious EU-Moldova relations in all areas. We are all here to support
the people of Moldova in their process of ongoing democratisation.

Please note that we have contacted the office of Labour MEP Afzhal Khan,
who is the lead MEP on this issue, for any further updates with the
current situation in Moldova. We will update you once we receive a reply.

Thank you once again for your email. Please do not hesitate to contact us
should you have any further questions.

Yours sincerely

Office of Claude Moraes MEP
Member of European Parliament for London Chair, European Parliament’s
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee

Thank you for your email regarding the Moldovan authorities’ attempts to rig the electoral system in their favour. The situation does indeed sound very concerning.

I have written to the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Boris Johnson, to pass on your concerns. As we are now entering the election period unfortunately I cannot guarantee that I will receive a response before the election, but if I do I will of course forward you a copy.

Thank you once again for taking the time to get in touch.

Best regards,

Vicky Foxcroft

Vicky Foxcroft MP

Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford

NOTE ON THE GENERAL ELECTION:After Parliament closes on May 2nd I will no longer be the MP for Lewisham Deptford. I am standing for re-election and from that point on will be the Labour Party candidate for the seat. During the campaign you can contact me atvicky_foxcroft@labour.org.uk

I am writing to inform you about the very troubling initiative by the corrupt authorities of Moldova to rig the electoral system in their favour and ask you to urge the relevant authorities to demand much stricter accountability and implementation of reforms. The British taxpayers have been contributing to the financial assistance programs for Moldova, which at the moment is the poorest country in Europe. Over the last decade over 1 billion Euros were provided by the EU to help Moldova – https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/moldova_en.

To give you some background, Moldova is a small country of the size and population similar to that of Wales that is landlocked between Romania and Ukraine. For a very long time corrupt parties have been ruling the country, but the situation got much worse over the last couple of years. The current government is controlled by one oligarch – Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is the leader of the Democratic Party. He managed to get a lot of power and all major state institutions under his control, including the government, the Prosecutor General office, the Justice System, he owns 4 out of 5 nationwide TV channels. His primary interest is to survive and avoid punishment for multiple corruption scandals that have shocked the country and the world, such as the theft of a billion dollars from the National Bank reserves (in which several UK registered companies were involved); the laundering of over 20 billion dollars from the Kremlin coffers through Moldova, into Europe; multiple dealings involving intermediary companies with non-transparent ownership structures, state-owned enterprises and monopolies.

The current economic situation in Moldova is so bad, that one in four Moldovans were forced to become economic migrants and left Moldova to find work in other places, including the UK.

At the moment the corrupt ruling party is trying to change the electoral system from a proportional representation, which most experts consider appropriate for Moldova, into a First Past the Post system like the one in the UK. The main reason for doing that is to make sure they can stay in power, continue to steal and prevent any democratic opposition from getting in power. Unlike the United Kingdom, Moldova is a very fragile democracy, where political corruption is rampant, keeping the current electoral system in place in Moldova is essential to give a chance to the new parties without much money or established structures to restore democracy and the rule of law.

I invite you to read a letter on this issue that has been sent from multiple Moldovan NGOs to representatives of International Institutions and the development partners of Moldova, which was published here – http://www.FreeMoldova.org/

I would like to ask you to contact the relevant authorities that are providing assistance financed by the British taxpayers to the Moldovan government, and ask them to urge the Moldovan authorities to focus on the real problems of the people instead of rigging the electoral system in their favour, impose much stricter conditions and be much more vocal in demanding real reforms in Moldova before giving this government any more money.

I am writing to inform you about the very troubling initiative by the corrupt authorities of Moldova to rig the electoral system in their favour and ask you to urge the relevant authorities to demand much stricter accountability and implementation of reforms. The British taxpayers have been contributing to the financial assistance programs for Moldova, which at the moment is the poorest country in Europe. Over the last decade, over 1 billion Euros were provided by the EU to help Moldova – https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/moldova_en.

To give you some background, Moldova is a small country of the size and population similar to that of Wales that is landlocked between Romania and Ukraine. For a very long time, corrupt parties have been ruling the country, but the situation got much worse over the last couple of years. The current government is controlled by one oligarch – Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is the leader of the Democratic Party. He managed to get a lot of power and all major state institutions under his control, including the government, the Prosecutor General office, the Justice System, he owns 4 out of 5 nationwide TV channels. His primary interest is to survive and avoid punishment for multiple corruption scandals that have shocked the country and the world, such as the theft of a billion dollars from the National Bank reserves (in which several UK registered companies were involved); the laundering of over 20 billion dollars from the Kremlin coffers through Moldova, into Europe; multiple dealings involving intermediary companies with non-transparent ownership structures, state-owned enterprises and monopolies.

The current economic situation in Moldova is so bad, that one in four Moldovans were forced to become economic migrants and left Moldova to find work in other places, including the UK.

At the moment the corrupt ruling party is trying to change the electoral system from a proportional representation, which most experts consider appropriate for Moldova, into a First Past the Post system like the one in the UK. The main reason for doing that is to make sure they can stay in power, continue to steal and prevent any democratic opposition from getting in power. Unlike the United Kingdom, Moldova is a very fragile democracy, where political corruption is rampant, keeping the current electoral system in place in Moldova is essential to give a chance to the new parties without much money or established structures to restore democracy and the rule of law.

I invite you to read a letter on this issue that has been sent from multiple Moldovan NGOs to representatives of International Institutions and the development partners of Moldova, which was published here – http://www.FreeMoldova.org/

I would like to ask you to contact the relevant authorities that are providing assistance financed by the British taxpayers to the Moldovan government, and ask them to urge the Moldovan authorities to focus on the real problems of the people instead of rigging the electoral system in their favour, impose much stricter conditions and be much more vocal in demanding real reforms in Moldova before giving this government any more money.

I am writing to inform you about the very troubling initiative by the corrupt authorities of Moldova to rig the electoral system in their favour and ask you to urge the relevant authorities to demand much stricter accountability and implementation of reforms. The British taxpayers have been contributing to the financial assistance programs for Moldova, which at the moment is the poorest country in Europe. Over the last decade over 1 billion Euros were provided by the EU to help Moldova – https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/moldova_en.

To give you some background, Moldova is a small country of the size and population similar to that of Wales that is landlocked between Romania and Ukraine. For a very long time corrupt parties have been ruling the country, but the situation got much worse over the last couple of years. The current government is controlled by one oligarch – Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is the leader of the Democratic Party. He managed to get a lot of power and all major state institutions under his control, including the government, the Prosecutor General office, the Justice System, he owns 4 out of 5 nationwide TV channels. His primary interest is to survive and avoid punishment for multiple corruption scandals that have shocked the country and the world, such as the theft of a billion dollars from the National Bank reserves (in which several UK registered companies were involved); the laundering of over 20 billion dollars from the Kremlin coffers through Moldova, into Europe; multiple dealings involving intermediary companies with non-transparent ownership structures, state-owned enterprises and monopolies.

The current economic situation in Moldova is so bad, that one in four Moldovans were forced to become economic migrants and left Moldova to find work in other places, including the UK.

At the moment the corrupt ruling party is trying to change the electoral system from a proportional representation, which most experts consider appropriate for Moldova, into a First Past the Post system like the one in the UK. The main reason for doing that is to make sure they can stay in power, continue to steal and prevent any democratic opposition from getting in power. Unlike the United Kingdom, Moldova is a very fragile democracy, where political corruption is rampant, keeping the current electoral system in place in Moldova is essential to give a chance to the new parties without much money or established structures to restore democracy and the rule of law.

I invite you to read a letter on this issue that has been sent from multiple Moldovan NGOs to representatives of International Institutions and the development partners of Moldova, which was published here – http://www.FreeMoldova.org/

I would like to ask you to contact the relevant authorities that are providing assistance financed by the British taxpayers to the Moldovan government, and ask them to urge the Moldovan authorities to focus on the real problems of the people instead of rigging the electoral system in their favour, impose much stricter conditions and be much more vocal in demanding real reforms in Moldova before giving this government any more money.